The Genderbending of the Champion, Red
by Andmeuths
Summary: The Pokemon Master, Red wakes up to find himself back in time, to the beginning of his First Journey. Only to find himself stuck in the 11 year old body of his Female counterpart, Leaf. Now he embarks on a quest to get back the consciousness of his female "other", and find a way back to his own time-line.


**Chapter 1: In the wrong body. **

**I: Waking. **

The first thing Red noticed was the absence of the faint sounds of howling wind that he expected to hear in the background. The second was the utterly uncharacteristic warmth that filled his sense of touch. The third was the silky sensation that stretched across his shoulders. And then there was the dissonant slowly awakening, bemused sensation of perturbation at thinking in a masculine fashion. To top it off, he could feel the firm, feathery sensation of a solid mattress under him, as opposed to the thin fabric of the sleeping bag that he was accustomed to.

A part of his brain was urging him to open his eyes and get up quickly. There was an even stronger, almost foreign, impulse forcing his eyes shut. While it did not have the tell-tale mental, sickening sweet stench of a Hypnosis induced sleep, he was very certain that this impulse to sleep in was most certainly not his own.

There was one last desperate discourse then. He tried opening his mouth. It remained shut. Once more, he tried again, with more deliberate intent. This time, that strange, other, half-asleep resistance gave way.

"Pika, Shock me." He asked in his typically laconic manner.

His mind froze at the sound of his voice. It was not his own. It was far too high to be his own.

The image of a young slender dark brown hair girl appeared in his mind. Apparently asleep, she was slowly sinking in an endless silver lake. And as she sunk, a trickle, then a flood of memories bubbled out of the surface. With a gasp, Red finally overcame that disintegrating impulse to sleep, and opened his eyes to a sight that was both refreshingly normal, yet all the more bizarre.

**II The girl in the Mirror**

The flood of memories that were still trickling into the brain as Red shot up of bed. It stirred around his mind like the unsettled aftermath of a Whirlpool move in a water based arena. With a body whose proportions felt strange, he sat up and surveyed his surroundings. The room was quite likely approximately the same shape and dimensions as his room in his childhood house in Pallet Town. Yet, for some reason, it carried exactly that same sense of familiarity he got whenever he woke up after a brief stop-over in Pallet Town over the past five years.

The similarities to the room didn't just end there. The windows were in exactly same position as those in his room. The view outside was exactly the same as the one outside his own room. There were bookshelves directly across his bed. There was a Laptop at the other end of the room. Crowning the centre of the room was a Game Console. There was the familiar noticeboard at the stairs down the room. And that was the first major difference. The writing on it was much more cursive than his own relatively blunt style of writing.

There were other differences, just as subtle. A ribbon tied to the vast closet. The curtains were more detailed and… fluffy. The rug's previous austere crimson pattern was replaced with a softer emerald mosaic. The Game Console controller was pink. There was a Cleafairy doll at the far end.

He frowned as his eyes caught sight of the calendar. Unless he was mistaken, it was not merely the same year where he set off on his journey, it was also both the same month and date. Perturbed,

And then, there was the mirror, set in place to the left, opposite to the windows on his right.

Cautiously, he approached it. His gait felt momentarily unsteady for the briefest of moment, but with the next step, it almost reflexively corrected himself. The strangeness that he felt about his body was somehow fading too.

He caught sight of himself within the mirror. No. Him was a misnomer for what was reflected in the mirror. And the memories in his mind suddenly all came together all at once, the jumbled mess abruptly sorting itself out.

It was not his face that looked out back at him. It was not his body that was reflected on that brass-gold framed standing mirror.

It was that of the face and body of the girl that he briefly in that strange vision like imagery minutes ago. Her hair and eyes were a dark chocolate shade of brown, in contrast to his black hair and eyes. And previously vague memories of a life that seemed to parallel his childhood in many ways, memories of the same mother, of the same town, of the same child-hood friend turned rival sorted themselves out.

The flood of information still coursing through her mind, trembling hands felt herself to verify the reality that was staring at her wide eyed through the mirror.

**III: Courses of Action**

Having forced himself to calm down with well-practiced exercises developed to manage stressful high-level Pokemon battle situations, Red sat up, propped against the pillows, closing his eyes to think and take stock of the situation. It was a posture and position taken not from his own memories, but presumably the memories of the original owner of this body. If this was not a dream, a possibility he was entertaining.

With his thought processes racing at a rate of the rapidity needed to fight a Pokemon Master Battle, Red took stock of his current situation. With thorough discipline, he forced his thoughts into greater coherence.

There were a lot of possibilities as to what was going on. He could be under a Hypnosis. A legendary Pokemon like Dakari could be screwing with his mind. Or his situation was exactly what he saw, and this was no illusion, but another reality. But there was several things he could establish right now.

Firstly, it seems undoubtable that he now found himself in a Female Body. He decided not go down a certain line of thought regarding that.

Secondly, the last coherent memory he had was that of departing the Pokemon center near the base of Mount Silver. Everything beyond that was a jumble of vague impressions and snippets of disconnected memories, though as far as he could strain his mind to recall, none of these memories particularly stood out as being out of the ordinary. Besides the fact that his latest memories were in a jumbled up, disconnected mess, there was no other hint from this angle as to the origins of his current predicament.

Thirdly, shortly after he woke up this morning, he acquired a set of eerily parallel memories that were apparently that of the girl whose body she was currently acquiring. She shared the same mother with him, lived in the same house, studied in the same schools, had the same child-hood friend, Blue Oak who grew more distant, was sent away to Johto when they were both 8, and became somewhat of a bully when he returned a year later. The simplest conclusion Red reached was that he woke up either in the body of his hypothetical twin sister, or a female version of her life. However, Leaf, as this girl was known was clearly far more out-going, less withdrawn, and quite a prankster in her own right. What accounted for such a difference? The parallels between her life and his was certainly strongest before eight or so, when his and her former best friend left for Johto. But rather than merely becoming more withdrawn and silent in response to those circumstances, Leaf became more outgoing and developed a rather mischievous sense of humour.

And while Blue certainly was as uncivil as ever to both of them, clearly, the relationship between both child-hood friends wasn't one of domination, but rather Leaf duelling with Blue with every bit of gutso that was reminiscent of his very own Pokemon battles with Blue. Red realized there and then that he had to watch himself once he stepped out of the room. The mannerisms of this girl were for the lack of a better word, coy. Red was sure that Leaf would get along well splendidly with Mimic. And with the likable livewire but highly competent Master, Lyra Crys, one of seven trainers who ever scored a victory against him.

That trainer that convinced him to climb down from Mount Silver and spent the rest of his adolescence finding trainers strong enough to puncture his invincible reputation. Ironically, each of those seven had the reputation of being near invincible in their own right. It was Masters like them that convinced Blue to finally retire from Pokemon battling – good as his friend was, he was never going to make the tier of Masters like that Honen Firebrand who smashed Blue's National Record for time taken in gaining Eight gym badges after acquiring a Trainers Licence, based on a dare, a mere two years after Red defeated his rival. Or the two Sinnoh Masters of whom victory against was a 50-50 prospect strongly based on luck. He wryly considered that all of them were mere children, even younger with him, with the exception of Cynthia, who should have held the title for three years at this point, and going through a similar second great journey he himself went through when he was fifteen.

He was aware that he was grinning at that, almost uncharacteristic of himself. Should he worried about Mannerisms then? He wondered, if it seems that this body was automatically more responsive than his own? And why was his mind deviating uncharacteristically? That grin immediately faded away.

There was one last, most troubling issue to consider. What happened to the original occupant of this body? What happened to her mind and soul? How much of her mind was lodged in somehow, in him, if indeed, his suspicions were true, and his manner of thinking was being affected by Leaf's mind. And what of her soul? Red once again recalled the brief vision of the sight of this girl sinking into some silvery lake. Did that brief imagery had significance? Where was Leaf's soul then? The worst case scenario was that Red somehow killed the girl by taking control of this body, but he decided that such a possibility was unlikely. Even a ghost type possession does not normally kill the soul of a host, nor the dreaded Perish Song.

There were several ways Red could think off to find out the truth. He could look up for a Ralts or Lucario via the international exchanges. He could get a sufficiently high levelled Hypno. He could once more look for Vee, if she existed in this time-line, and once more, nurture her into an Espeon. Needless to say, such an endeavour would take several weeks, even if he was lucky. Less than the famed 80 days, perhaps, but then, that Master started with Three Pokemons, not one and had significant prior experience with Pokemon even before getting a licence.

In-fact, thinking of Vee reminded Red there and then of all his greatly treasured Pokemon. If he was to walk out right now out of the house, and run towards the tall-grass at the outskirts of town, would this world's Pika jump out at him, just like it did in this world? Or did all the Pokemon he knew personally, raised, trained, slept with, lived with so closely, had such bonds with, did they all exist?

Already, there were differences. From those memories, Red recalled there were three balls in Professor's Oak Laboratory when Leaf snucked in last evening. Not the solitary one he saw when he first met Pika, containing the Eevee, Vee, that ended up in Red's possession eventually after a roundabout route with Blue. Were those tears sliding down his cheek? Red clamped down on that sudden surge of homesickness, keeping his emotions back in check. Mourning over this was no solution.

He sighed. It would be quite a naïve hope to imagine that the very same Pokemon in his team would gather around Leaf. Assuming this was indeed, another time, and considering that this was HER Own journey, and not his, it would be quite selfish indeed for him to seek back his old team. All the more reason, though, to firstly, find a way to get Leaf back where she belonged, in the driving seat, and to find a way back to his own world. He sincerely hoped though, that time in his own home-time at least passed the same rate as time here, if not for returning back exactly when he left. And he could not even remember what he was doing before he was sent here.

_Now what?_ He thought to himself. The first thing he needed to force himself to do was to refer to himself in the feminine pronoun, for the duration of his time here. As outgoing as Leaf was, Red knew, somehow, she would have been mortified at the idea of being regarded boyish.

The second thing she decided was that he needed to tread a fine-line as he started Leaf's journey. Indeed, her first priority should be to recover Leaf's mind. It was very unfair in his view, to allow either Leaf or her meant to be companions know each other through the care of a mimic, an imposter. It was indeed, unfair to deprive Leaf of the experience of her journey, so he decided to refrain from clearing any of the gyms if she (she mentally slapped herself for that previous lapse) had to, or indeed, capturing no more Pokemon then was needed to defend this body.

She frowned again as she surveyed the possible options quickly. She could journey to Lavender Tower, and request help of the Channelers there in reviving Leaf's mind. But then, she would need a Pokemon capable of teleporting to Lavender Town, or a Pokemon with the HM Fly, or to secure transport there, which was going to be challenging, and expensive. The same was true if she went for the Saffron City option, and seek the help of the Psychics there. She could alternatively propose or try to secure transport across the Tohojo range, and make it to Goldenrod, and from there, Ecruteak City, but She decided that was too convoluted. . She could trade through the International net-works till he secured a Ralts line or a Lucario Pokemon . Even a Hypno, if She wanted to take a risk. She ruled out an Alkazam, those things were difficult to acquire even for from whom Ethan Koro, starting with Common Monsters as a base. Speaking of Ethan Koro, She could ask Professor Oak for help in acquiring a Psychic Pokemon via the Day Care Couple, through Pokemon Trading.

She then came to a realization. Dashing over to the large sling on handbag that was prepared for her journey, the previous week, Red/Leaf rummaged through one of the inner pockets of handbag, and withdrew both a manual badge case, and a hardcopy Trainer's card. Of course. Badge earnings were not digitally registered into the Trainer's identity back when Red started his journey, and not at this point of time yet. In-fact, the badge case in her hands had a combination number lock attached to it – a necessity back in the days where losing one's badge or having one's badge stolen would have been disastrous.

It was of course, curious that Pokemon battles were conducted with a HP gauge overlaid onto the vision of the battling trainers, and yet, there was no electronic registration of badges, and physical hard-copy badges were still the only proof of victory at that time. But then again, the League could be quite conservative – the issue of HP Gauges were meant to resolve battle-disputes, a more immediately applicable problem. The issue of acquiring badges with a false identity, or having badges stolen with no recourse to regaining them did not have as high a priority, until a very serious incident concerning the misuse and illegal acquisition of badges that was about six years away.

In Red's own world, for the past four years, all Trainers had to digitally register their Trainer ID before Gym Leader challenge, and losing a badge was technically impossible, because even if one had lost the badge, his or her victory would already had been registered by the league. All that was needed to regain a badge by then was your trainer ID. In this time though, Red could perfectly well hack his way through the gyms, without depriving Leaf of the chance to earn the badges herself later, should he manage to get her consciousness back. After all, were he in the same position, he too would have wanted it this way.

In-fact, since this was effectively a New Game + for all intents and purposes, clearing the Kanto gyms should not have been that difficult given Red's experience and skill. And better still, there was no actual need to present one's trainer card yet at those times, so anonymous challenges were possible. Therefore, Red/Leaf could simply disguise herself, conceal her identity and sweep enough Gym badges to get what she needed to get the original owner of this body back where she belonged.

And after that, the Badges could be destroyed once Leaf was brought back.

After that? Find a way to get himself back home, where he belonged. And perhaps, to find out the reason behind the situation he currently found himself in, though that was secondary.

Leaf opened her eyes, and got up from the bed. The clock read 0934H. Red entered the tall Grass at around mid-morning, perhaps around 1000H, if Leaf recalled correctly. With a confidently wide stride, the girl walked towards the wardrobe, deliberately warping herself in memories native to this body regarding dressing, and suppressing a squirming embarrassment from the masculine part of her psyche. The sooner this problem was resolved, the better. She now had a plan.

**IV: Pallete Comparisons**

"All girls dream of travelling. It is said so on the TV." Leaf froze on midstride down the stairs at the sound of their mother's voice, for a moment. She certainly recalled that something completely different was mentioned when Red came down in his world, but she strained to remember what. But, she supposed that there was no point being surprised.

Her mother blinked at her from the table she was seating besides. "Oh, sorry. Just commenting to myself." She gave a cheery grin. "Oh, yes. The good Professor Oak came over just now. He was looking for you." The voice was nostalgic, in that half odd sense that Red recalled earlier that morning. Leaf could feel her eyes starting to tear.

Suppressing the surge of emotions, and hiding it behind a hastily constructed mask. Leaf continued down the stairs. "I'll have a quick bite then before I'll go." She commented in that richly vibrant voice of hers. Inside, Red hoped that it was a fair imitation of Leaf. It would have been and did felt strange trying to put on that kind of persona, but oddly, it was astonishingly and surprisingly easy . Once she was seated beside her mother, she began attacking the toast on the table with swift ferocity, while taking a look at the TV. This time, it too was very different from what Red saw when he began his journey. A girl in pigtails was walking down, solitarily across an endless red brick road that stretched to the horizon. Suddenly, the same kind of wanderlust Red recalled feeling years back, at the very moment when he decided to return down from Mount Silver to restart his journey again took hold of Leaf.

The restless urge competed with the sentimental urge to initiate a conversation with his mother again. With the toast being consumed at an alarming rate, Leaf's rationality sided with the restless urge against the almost equally pressing desire to slow down and enjoy the peace of their child-hood home again.

_No. _She firmly told herself, mouth full of the last chunk of toast that she was about to swallow. With her breakfast done, she picked up her bag.

"I'd better be going then mum! See you later!" She forced herself to chirpily say. Again, this felt forced and unnatural, but less so than the first time.

Red privately hoped that he did not end up imitating Leaf's personality once he got back to his body.

Picking her bag up, Leaf turned the doorknob and swung the door rapidly open, dashing out into the green fields, well-kept hedges and solid pathways that made up bucolic Pallet Town. Briefly, she stood at the doorway to look out at the expense of the village. She sighed in relief. That breakfast was one of the most awkward, but at least it did not arouse suspicion.

Breathing in the familiar waft of the marigold flowers that spread down in the fields below her house, she looked out to the south, across the pleasant lanes and red and green roof houses, dwellings that spread all the way down south till it reached the beach separating the town from the narrow gulf that marked the start of Route 21.

To her right , the lane of other dwellings further west from the house slowly petered out into dirt trails that crisscrossed a section of wide open fields, which terminated in low distant railings separating the fields from the forest. To her left was the sizeable, slightly larger house of Blue Oak, his Sister and sometimes, Professor Oak.

Down the road, to the South East, Professor Oak's Laboratory swallowed a good quarter of the town below the ridged that both their houses laid on-top on.. There was his main office where she remembered that Red first fought Blue within, and where Leaf had sneaked in to take a peek the previous night, never mind that she was always welcome within the laboratory according to the Professor. But beyond that, research fields, holding pens , auxiliary laboratories, storehouses, guest houses and meeting rooms made up a sprawling complex that stretched from a mere hundred meters South East of their house, all the way into a section of the other stretch of forest which also laid to the West of Pallet Town. Soaring within the forest laid the aviary. Some distance off further down on the coast of Route 21 laid a marine sanctuary and a series of docks that Red clearly recalled calling at back when he returned back from his first journey around Kanto, to Pallet Town.

The Professor turned a sleepy village off to the south of the much larger Viridian city, into one of the major research hub for Pokemon Research Kanto and even beyond. The Laboratory at New Bark Town was nearly second fiddle to the world renown Professor Oak, even if both Laboratories had fundamentally different specialities.

Standing there, Red/Leaf wondered why she was taking her time to survey her home-town. It was exactly as Red remembered it. Exactly the same, give or take a few minor details. It appeared, so far, that the biggest difference in this world was that she, was of a different gender,

She wondered where the Professor spotted Red from back at the beginning of his Journey, where they found Pika just meters into Route 1. How that Pika even strayed into Route 1 from its usual haunts up north in Viridian Forest was something that not even Red had ever asked and he would never have dreamt of using his Espeon or Mewtwo, who he captured for a time, to get an answer.

Her feet carried her out into the significant thoroughfare between the houses of her estranged child-hood friend, and hers. From there road gradually led upwards past a steadily decreasing concentration of dwellings, finally ending up to Route 1. She could feel the sudden hopeful urge to suddenly dash up to the edge of Route 1. Perhaps she would run into Pika?

"Leaf." Another familiar voice called out, from the other side of the road.

Red turned around, momentarily taking on a puzzled look on her face, before remembering that this world's counterpart of Red was called Leaf.

Waving at her from over the low walls of the Oak's residence was Daisy Oak. Red admitted that he did have a childhood crush on her, and he also admitted that it would have been quite awkward given the situation she was currently in, if that relationship had become more than an innocent child-hood crush.

If Leaf's memories were to be believed, Leaf saw Daisy as something akin to an elder sister figure. Was her rivalry with Blue a sibling quarrel, or a l- … no, Red/Leaf decided not to pursue that line of speculation.

"Hi, Daisy." She replied, working furiously to prevent a blush from manifesting itself.

"It's unusual of you to zone out just like that." Daisy lightly commented, with a light smile on her face that seemed to be perpetually there.

The elder of the two Oak siblings had a very good point. Leaf was not given to introspection as much as Red was in the habit of doing. His female self or twin, whichever it was would probably would have dashed out of the house, and down to the Lab. But, Red knew that it was quite likely that the Professor was currently not in his laboratory.

Or was he? Her mind racing, Leaf/Red quickly formulated any number of possible replies on the fly, finally settling on the one that felt the most natural.

"Ah… eh he." She sheepishly grinned. "Today was a special day? I thought that it might be best to remember this moment in before going on the journey?" She innocently beamed. "Anyway, where is Professor Oak? My mum said that he was looking for me."

"He said he had business to take care off out at the outskirts of Pallet Town. Look for him around entrance Route 1, but remember not to go into the tall grass!" Daisy admonished.

."Thanks, Dae!" Using the nickname that this version of himself had given Daisy, yet another one of those details where both their lives had diverged from one another, Red/Leaf took off towards the north, her bag slung over her shoulders.

A similar conversation took place just before his own journey began. Only, it took place inside the Oak Residence, not on the road between their houses. And what was said then, Red was certain, was substantially different, even if he could not recall the exact words. Red casually wondered how much more the events of this day would deviate from his memories before it was out.

**V: The Starter Dilema.**

Red recalled the first time he met Pika. The mid-morning sun was obscured by a veil of passing clouds. A significant breeze picked up, rustling loose foliage across his sight.

The female version of him now stood at the edge of Route 1, a few paces into the tall grass, with the precise weather phenomena taking place. Slowly, the shadows of the cloud swept across the field like a shaded curtain. Once again, the breeze travelled from North to South. Dark brown eyes peered into the maze of vegetation ahead, vegetation that reached up to her knees.

The open field and safety was a mere few steps away. Any moment now, perhaps Pika might once more appear in the tall-grass. If not….

But then what, if Pika did appear? What if she could amass and gather her old team back in this world? She was of two minds of whether she did want Pika to appear in-front of her. A

Though where was the Professor? Though Leaf/Red kept a sharp lookout at the surrounding lanes while approaching Route 1, there was clearly no sign of the Professor. She was surprised when she took her first steps into the Route, without the Professor's protestations.

And right on cue, to Leaf/Red's relief.

"Hey! Wait!" The baritone voice of the Professor rang out behind her. "Don't go any out any further into the Tall Grasses!" He exclaimed. For a man his age, he was still remarkably fit.

"I was looking for you Leaf! It's not safe to go any further-" The moment of truth was rapidly coming. If Professor's Oak's lecture was not going to be interrupted by a Pikachu, then it was unlikely she was going to be able to assemble the counterparts of the same Pokemon Red knew and dearly loved in her team.

"I know!" Still no Pikachu.

"Here, come with me!" And with that, the Professor turned Leaf around by the shoulder, and led her back out of Route 1 and into Pallet Town.

Leaf felt far less reluctance than she had anticipated as she was turned around out of Route 1, without Pika's appearance.

Yet, the part of her who accepted this and breathed a sigh of a relief at that also had a counter-part that truly felt, for the first time that day, that home seemed more distant than ever. It simmered as they walked back through the road to the Lab, and slowly fizzled away into nothingness by the time Red/Leaf entered the humble doors of Professor Oak's main office.

The laboratory's layout remained unchanged, as ever. The main atrium was a veritable archive of books, and a hub of activity with clouds of aides moving to and froth, between the various doorways that led to other parts of the Institution in general. Beyond the atrium laid a single upward sloping corridor which ended in Professor Oak's own personal office, and Laboratory.

The layout was exactly as Red had recalled. A terminal to the left of her position was set to an E-mail from the Elite Four. Machinery surrounded the environs around the terminal. Further to the right laid blank versions of the Pokedex, that most invaluable and revolutionary encyclopaedia cum general purpose device that ironically jumped start the careers of most of the Pokemon Masters of Red's generation and younger. Almost everything in that room and even in that Atrium was just as Red had remembered. Up to and including Blue Oak's impatient scowl.

With the exception of a single important distinction: lying on the Mahogany Table was not a solitary Pokeballs, but three Pokeballs. Not even Leaf had the slightest idea what laid within the Pokeballs. In Red's experience, there was only one Pokeball, containing that Eevee called Vee.

Right on cue, Blue's whining began: " Gramps! I'm fed up of waiting!"

To that, the Professor affected an absent minded demeanour. "Blue? Let me think…." the Professor scratch his head in outwardly puzzlement. Over the years, Red had occasionally wondered whether Professor Oak was truly that absent minded, or whether that was a subtle snub to his grandson's ego.

"Oh, that's right. I told you to come! Just wait!" The Professor pleasantly turned back to Leaf/Red.

"There are three Pokemons here. Haha!" He heartily laughed. "The Pokemon are held inside these Pokeballs. When I was young, I was a serious Pokémon Trainer. But now, in my old age, I have only these three left. You can have one. Go on, choose!"

Red privately wondered how true that assertion was, since this statement curiously did not square with the practice in the other regions he had visited after breaking his first exile. Perhaps being older and hopefully wiser than his 11 year old self made him sufficiently socially sensitive to recognize a subtle snub when he saw one. Perhaps Blue's behaviour was in part a matter of an insecurity complex. He would never know, he never had a Heart to Heart talk with Blue ever since they were Eight, and this was also true for Leaf.

"Hey Gramps!" Blue cried indignantly, stamping his feet. "Not fair! What about me!"

"Be Patient Blue. You can have one too!" Professor Oak replied.

Red/Leaf saw Blue opening his mouth again to protest for a moment, before, for the briefest moment, she saw an expression of triumphant realization on Blue's face for a moment. He then nodded, the sullen look returning to his face. To come to think of it, it was not such a convincing display of sullenness after all.

_Could it be? _

Briskly walking to the table, Red began looking at the labels of each of the Pokeballs.

**Bulbasaur. **The first ball read.

**Squirtle. **The second ball read.

**Charmander. **The third ball read.

A grass type. A water type. A fire type. Rock, Paper , Scissors. And if this Blue was definitely Blue Oak, he definitely would have sneak a peek at the labels before Professor Oak came back to the Lab.

"Well played Blue. Well played." Red/Leaf murmured under her breath.

_The first trainer to choose his Pokemon is at the disadvantage when up against a trainer with a multi-type Pokemon team. That is why Gym leaders and indeed the Elite Four allows the Challenger to choose their Pokemon second, and for the Challenger to make the first move. _

_Obvious. But how is she going to call Blue out on his strategy? _

Before Red knew what was happening, Red/Leaf walked up to Blue, and gave him a most beatific smile. In a sweet, coying voice, she suggested. "Why, why don't you go first? Since you so are eager to do so anyway, it would be rather rude for me to choose before you. Go on ahead first."

"Heh, I don't need to be greedy like you. I'm mature! Go ahead and choose, Leaf! It'll be rude to go before a lady." He gave a cocky grin.

_That would not have been how I would have phrased it. _Red privately thought in his mind. Certainly, though, he suspected this was exactly what Leaf would have said, had she offered to let Blue go first. Would she have caught on to Blue's plan though?

Red/Leaf quickly reviewed through her options. The plan was to get to Lavender Town or Saffron City as fast as possible. Odds are, Saffron City was going to be soon blockaded by Team Rocket – the chances were good that the gym would be under lock-down by the time she got there. Lavender Town was also in a mess – so long as Team Rocket was defiling the Pokemon Tower, the town itself would be in an uproar thanks to its enraged native Ghost Pokemon population. Digglet's Cave was not a usable route, not with a low levelled Bulbasaur.

If he took the Northern Route, there were the Mount Moon ranges to cross, and bypassing Pewter Gym would be difficult, since the passes to Mount Moon were being watched by Hiker Junior Leaders ushering anyone without the Boulder Badge to the gym. Unless things did change .

Chamander would take too long to raise. A Squirtle was a poor choice for the Second Gym, that would also add time to the journey. On the other hand, the first three Gyms should have been easily cleared by Bulbasaur, and Erika's gym could be dealt with by a Pidgeot and Fearow.

Red/Leaf could try to insist that Blue go first. Since the Squirtle line had access to Ice Beam, most of its weaknesses would have been nullified- another Rock type should provide sufficient coverage for Squirtle and its evolutions. If Red/Leaf was not in such a hurry, she might have gone for Squirtle, from a purely strategic perspective.

And then, there was the dilemma of which Pokemon to choose. Venesaur, Charizard and Blastoise were integral part of Red's core team, along with Pikachu. Still….it didn't make a true difference did it?

_It's a rather cold blooded way of thinking isn't it? _He wondered to himself.

_I've accepted the basic premise that everything here is essentially new. It is unlikely that I shall run into the members of my Team while on this world. This is a fact. _

_And after Leaf gets back her body, then what? Does she keep the Pokemon I choose for her? Does she return it and swap for another? What does she want? What would she have chosen?_

"Something fitting . Leaf." Red/Leaf murmured.

Walking back over to the table, Red/Leaf removed the Pokeball containing Bulbasaur, and released it.

"I see." The Professor thoughtfully commented. " Bulbasaur is your choice. It's very easy to raise."

Red/Leaf bent down to regard Bulbasaur carefully, looking at the markings of the four-legged Pokemon's spotted Blue-green hide. It was almost certainly not the Bulbasaur he knew in his own world.

"Bulba?" The Bulbasaur asked with a quizzical look in her face. The tag had rather helpfully indicated the gender of the creature.

"Hi, I'm Leaf. I'm pleased to meet you." She bent down to greet the Bulbasaur in a gentle voice, extending out a hand. "Let's be friends and work together."

Red/Leaf considered giving Bulbasaur a nickname momentarily.

_I don't have the right to give her a nickname. The real Leaf does. _Red finally decided.

Two twin vines hesitantly extended from the bulbous back of the Balbasaur, meeting and tingling the palm of her outstretched hand.

"Bulba?" The Pokemon asked in a tone that Red identified as curiosity.

Red/Leaf responded by stroking the vines gently, in the manner Red used to do for his own Bulbasaur.

Behind, Blue made a gagging sound, that was suddenly cut off.

"I see, Leaf." The Professor's voice ponderously drifted over her.

"So you choose Bulbasaur then? It's a very easy Pokemon to raise. Would you be going with the Grass type then?" Professor Oak asked.

Leaf turned around and gave a simple nod. It was a good start to gaining the Pokemon's trust, but of course, the real owner of this body would not have been aware of that particular fact.

"Let's get to know each other better later, Bulbasaur." She quietly said with a gentle smile, as she returned the Pokemon to the ball.

_Fake. _

That guilt ridden thought briefly crossed her mind.

"I'll take this one then!" Blue's triumphant voice declared, selecting the Charmander, just as Red/Leaf predicted that her rival would.

"Thank you Professor." Red/Leaf formally bowed. Red reflected that he had never actually thanked the Professor the first time round. And perhaps it was breaking the character is he was determine to keep somewhat in public, but he supposed such unusual behaviour was granted for special occasions such as this.

Blue snorted to Red/Leaf's right. "Hmph. My Pokemon looks a lot tougher than yours." A smirk that was in truth had an element of satisfaction on-top of superficial bluster and contempt was fixed onto Blue's face.

_Curious. I don't think I'm that observant, am I?_

There was silence to that monologue.

For some strange reason, Red decided that he would rather have been a voice in Leaf's head rather than its unwitting hijacker. As Red/Leaf headed out of the office, she decided that a return salvo to Blue's taunt would be fitting.

"We shall see about that, Blue." She turned around and flashed a challenging predatory smile, and continued her way out.

"Wait." That single word stopped Red/Leaf in her tracks, as she inwardly groaned to herself. She had should have expected that challenge. Rapid footsteps echoed behind her.

"Why don't we check out our Pokemon now? Come on now! I'll take you on. Go, Chamander!" her rival exclaimed.

Red/Leaf plucked her Pokeball from her belt, and held it close to her mouth.

"Trust me, Bulbasaur?" She whispered. The ball shook a little, in assent.

"Thank you."

Swinging around from the edge of the Professor Oak's office, Red/Leaf sent out her newly acquired Pokemon into battle for the first time with a single arcing throw.

**VI: Déjà vu with a different face.**

"Oh for Pete's sake-"

"Growl" Red/Leaf laconically commanded, cutting into the Professor's narration. She got the feeling that the real Leaf would have been much more dynamic and expressive, but well trained habits of battle died hard.

"It seems that you got the hang of battling ,Leaf. The trainer that makes his opponent's Pokemon faint by reducing it to 0 wins. You must inflict damage on your foes, preferably with an attack like Tackle." The Professor advised.

Two HP gagues immediately appeared in Red/Leaf's vision, one close to her, and the other near Gary, each representing the Pokemon they had in play.

Unlike Tail Whip, or Leer, there was no way Chamander could evade the sound of Growl. Rumbling filled the office.

"Chamander, close in and Scratch!" Blue ordered.

The Chamander, snapped out of the monetarily cowering induced by Bubasaur, charging straight towards the grass Pokemon.

Thankfully, at these levels, Chamander was yet unable to use Ember. Now that, would have made victory that much harder.

Her Pokemon stood right in the way, taking up an aggressive stance. "Bulbasaur, get ready to dodge."

Timing was critical when ordering a Pokemon to dodge. There were multiple factors determining when to dodge, including the relative speed of the pokemon vis a vis it's opponent, the velocity of the incoming attack, and the responsiveness of the Pokemon to the command. Ideally, a Pokemon should dodge when it's opponent was too committed to the attack to significantly alter its own trajectory. Sometimes, it was better to take an attack head-on, but at this level, the mere ability to judge when to issue a dodge order would have made all the difference between victory and defeat. It was skills like this that distinguished a Master from a regular trainer. As her rival was about to learn. At least Blue decided not to counter with a Growl. Clearly, he was relying on his Pokemon's superior speed on the attack to lay down enough blows to make up for the reduced attack strength induced by growl.

She decided to play it safe. Since this was a newly acquired Pokemon, a certain extra buffer time was needed to give Bulbasaur enough time to respond to her commands.

The Chamander was meters away and no more than three seconds from impact when Leaf issued the order.

"Dodge." She simply said, tuning out Professor's Oak commentary on status effect out of her head.

And exactly as she predicted, the Chamander was unable to adjust or account for Bulbasaur's roll away from its incoming physical attack. The Chamander swung off balance as it's scratch connected of thin air.

"Tackle. Growl. Then keep Tackling." She ordered in quick succession.

After a second of hesitation, the Bulbasaur immediately leapt onto the Chamander, knocking it down, growled over it .

"Counter with a growl!" Blue cried the very moment the Bulbasaur knocked the Chamander down.

But it was too late. Once again, the Chamander cowered again briefly as the Bulbasaur distinctive rumble continued pinning down its prone form, and before it could obey it's trainer's command, Bulbasaur's follow up tackles began connecting.

"Scatch! Try to throw it off!"

It managed to pull of one scratch at the underside of the Bulbasuar as it tackled again.

"Hit the arm."

The Bulbasaur's bulk continued on, adjusting slightly, at smashing into the Chamander's arm.

"Body."

And the Bulbasaur continued on, capitalizing on its momentum.

"You are almost there Bulbasaur." Red/Leaf encouraged, as she saw Chamander's HP gague rapidly fell down to the red zone, than zero. Bulbasaur's HP Gauge was more three quarters full.

"WHAT! Unbelivable!" Blue furiously exclaimed, as Bulbasaur's last tackle reduced Chamander's HP to zero, knocking the fire Pokemon out.

"I picked the wrong Pokemon!" The young boy whined, as he recalled his Chamander back to it's Pokeball.

"Bulbasaur?" The Grass Pokemon turned to regard it's trainer.

"Excellent job Bulbasaur!" The girl scooped up her barely battered Bulbasaur, and stroked it's vines again. "Thanks for trusting me." She leaned her head down and murmured. "Now, have a good rest." Red light suffused the grass Pokemon, recalling it back into its Pokeball.

Leaf would have been jumping around in wild jubilation and hugging Bulbasaur and gushing over it, if her memories were any indication. While it could not be helped, inside, instead of jubilation, Red felt a slight sense of guilt for depriving the real owner of this body the joy of the victory. And the satisfaction of a new trainer earning her victory by her own effort, and not by the effort of a Master that happen to battle in her name.

_Unfair. A Master crushing a unbadged Trainer. _

"Hm! That was some excellent battling Leaf!" Professor Oak congratulated in great approval. "If you win, you earn prize money, and your Pokémon will grow! Battle other Trainers and make your Pokémon strong!"

There was a silence in the office for a brief moment.

"Hmph." Blue snorted, in a cruder imitation of his grandfather. "Okay! I'll make my Pokemon battle to toughen it up!" He immediately marched out of the office.

"Leaf! Gramps! Smell you later!" He said in a blustering tone, without even turning around to look back.

The door of Professor Oak's office slammed shut behind him.

_The Chamander…. If how he raised Vee early on was any guide… _Red/Leaf inwardly thought to herself.

It might have been overly sentimental, but Red did feel bad for the Chamander. True, Blue would change over time, but his immaturity would mean a few rocky months between him and his Pokemon.

"Leaf." The Professor spoke, just as she was about to turn around.

"You have a great deal of potential, girl." He slapped Leaf on the back. "Ha. You could probably take on the league, with that ability you displayed there. Train your Pokemon well." With a friendly nudge, and a wink, the Professor walked off.

Red/Leaf surveyed the office one last time. And then, with a satisfied nod, she open the door. To the beginning of the quest to bring his alternative self back to her body.

_Have I placed too high a burden of expectations on Leaf with that display though? _

_I can't draw to much attention to myself. I have to be careful._

With that, Red/Leaf's pace picked up, out of Professor Oak's office and into the wider region of Kanto. Hopefully, it would not be too long a road ahead.

A/N 1: The repeated switching of pronouns is a deliberate choice. Writing about Genderbendings unfortunately brings out the dilemma of which gender pronoun to use. As a rule, whenever Red/Leaf uses the pronoun he instead of she or her, we are taking a look at the actual Red, not the imitation of Leaf.

A/N 2: Red normally is portrayed in the fandom as either a very silent and taciturn person, or even an outright mute. From what I've seen so far, this isn't the case for Leaf. In any case, the divergence between their two personalities as portrayed in fan-dom makes for an interesting contast.

A/N 3:This contains certain elements borrowed from the manga series, Pokemon Adventures. However, this isn't strictly speaking a Pokemon Adventure based story. There are a few hints dropped as to which elements I did import, some very obvious, and some, I think quite subtle.

A/N 4: This Red came from the Pokemon Yellow Continuity. The obvious divergence from canon here however, is that at some point, he was convinced to move down from his exile ontop of Mount Silver and explore other regions in search of other Pokemon Masters to battle. It's a story that I've yet to write, but it has been bouncing around in my mind for quite some time.

A/N 5: All comments and reviews are greatly appreciated. This is not Betaed, so I'm sure there are mistakes here and there.


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